Part of being a parent in my house is having a relationship with those little fairies and elves that arrive at the different points in a child’s life. There is the bunny that has developed a working partnership with our cat to ensure proper delivery of eggs and filling of the Easter basket. There is that jolly old elf himself, Santa, who is happy to find my daughter wherever she might be at Christmas, and there is the tooth fairy.
Now, out of all these characters, it is this fairy with which I have the most difficult relationship.
The fairy is supposed to arrive at night, but sometimes the fairy is very tired and doesn’t fulfill her duties. The Diva has noted her absence various times! So, that sneaky fairy arrives in the house while no one is looking and makes good on her contract.
I have to make excuses for her.
She was afraid of the cat.
She didn’t get your note.
Those witches and such scared her (when the tooth was lost this past Halloween) so she needed to wait until morning.
The first time this happened, she arrived when the Diva was in the shower. This mused the Diva to no end – she continually mentions it. But she also asked “Is there a fairy?”
And sometimes I am not sure that there is a fairy. Out of the last few teeth the Diva has lost, the fairy has delivered late 90% of the time.
Thus, when the Diva lost her tooth after having to come home from school sick, I was sure that the fairy would be on the ball. There were no distractions. Nothing stood in her way of delivering timely. And hey, a sick kid can be out for the count.
So when I opened my eyes at 6 and realized that blasted fairy had fallen asleep on the job… again… I felt dismay. The delivery had to come before the Diva woke.
At 6:15 the Diva moved the obstacles in front of her tooth box and… wow!!
“Thank you!” she proclaimed.
I was a bit taken aback. Why is she saying thank you? Why is she so excited?
The tooth fairy had reached into her bag, in the midst of her hurry, and pulled out a $10 rather than a $1!
*sigh* “She must have felt very badly for being late all those other mornings.” I suggested as the Diva felt delighted at her find. “Or maybe she knew you were sick…or maybe she is not coming again and this is for all the teeth you will lose in the future.”
She didn’t hear a word I said.
I am going to have to have a little chat with the fairy. She definitely needs to pay more attention in the future!
7 comments:
Oh my goodness! This totally cracked me up!! What a great story!
Those blasted fairies!!! ;)
I was a tester. Always the scientist, I had my hypothesis that needed to be proven. So I once did NOT, in fact, let it be commonly known I had lost a tooth, put it under my pillow and could hardly sleep in the anticipation of the Great Experiment I was attempting.
Sure enough, my tooth was still there in the morning.
And my mother was livid.
I just tell my kids that the fairies, Bunnies, Santa...they all need helpers because even with the strongest of magic, how the heck is Santa going to fit down our chimney and get to every single child on Earth in one night?...but that a great part of that magic is the spirit of giving that we can all believe in and practice.
That doesn't mean I don't try to keep the belief alive. We also have to believe in each other!
Be well, TE.
With tooth exchange rates like that, I'm tempted to pull some of my own teeth out! Does the Diva's tooth fairy pull a bi-coastal gig?
I'm fairly mad at the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa. I KNEW it was a mistake to encourage my son's belief in them. When he discovered the reality of their unreality, he was shattered.
This is not a mistake I made twice.
It was funny... and no Dh, the tooth fairy does not give that exchange rate very often or on purpose!! Now Santa, in our house, does bicoastal arrangements... Santa baby... hurry down...)
Teri - I have heard about such things happening. I down play most of it and, she knows in her heart of hearts and has for a while. Like the Llama above, I focus on giving. There is a touch of the magic in our lives and in our house which I also enjoy. The idea that there is more to believe in in addition to what is seen.
Hahaha. That made me laugh.
I've often wondered how I'd keep up with the fairy and elf and bunny and whatever else if I were a parent.
JR - It is a challenge at time but mostly fun unless you ahve an experience like Teri's! My focus is more on the spirit of giving and fun over taking it too seriously. The Santa thing is a different story entirely! I will ahve to write about that at somepoint.
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